BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping economies, industries and daily life at breakneck speed. The question that matters now is not who builds the most powerful system, but whether AI becomes a weapon in geopolitical rivalry or an engine of shared global progress.

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), opening in Shanghai on Friday, arrives just as that question is becoming harder to avoid. Beyond the breakthroughs on display, the event's real message is simpler: AI advances through openness, not isolation.

On the eve of the 2026 WAIC, Shanghai hosted the signing ceremony of the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, a timely reminder that global AI governance is advancing through dialogue and cooperation rather than division.

Unilateral restrictions and protectionist policies are straining the global AI ecosystem, tightening restrictions on technology flows and investment. The real danger is not that innovation slows, but that a more fragmented AI landscape leaves many countries -- developing economies above all -- on the margins of the next technological revolution.

A widening AI divide is already one of the most pressing challenges facing global development -- and if left to grow, AI risks entrenching inequality rather than narrowing it.

This is precisely why openness and cooperation matter more than ever.

China upholds a people-centered approach and the principle of AI for good and for all. Rather than treating it as a strategic asset to be hoarded, Beijing frames AI as a driver of shared development -- one whose gains ought to be spread widely, not walled off.

That vision plays out both at home and abroad. Through platforms like WAIC, open-source initiatives, joint research, talent exchanges and capacity-building programs, China has sought to expand access to AI technologies and help other countries, notably developing economies, build up their own capacity to innovate.

China has also pushed for international cooperation on AI governance, through a string of initiatives -- among them the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, the Global AI Governance Action Plan, and the AI+ International Cooperation Initiative -- all calling for AI to be developed in a people-centered, safe and inclusive way, with developing countries given a greater voice and greater access.

The underlying rationale is simple: a country's technological leadership is measured not by how much it hoards, but by how much progress it helps others achieve.

Openness, of course, must be matched by responsible governance. As AI systems grow more powerful, concerns -- over safety, privacy, ethics and misuse -- require closer international coordination, rather than unilateral action. No single country can manage them alone.

This is why forums like WAIC matter: beyond the technology on display, they give governments, businesses, researchers and international organizations a place to deepen cooperation, trade lessons learned and build consensus on where AI should go next.

The future of AI should not be dictated by monopolies or geopolitical rivalry, but by how widely its innovations are shared and how broadly its benefits are felt. In championing openness, cooperation and common development, China is helping point the way forward. ■